Preparation: the trick to battle

[jaxamar]

Jaxamar took a deep breath, tasting the salt on the air, despite its relative dryness.

"So," he said, glancing at his Pokemon, who were all outside their Pokeballs, "We need to train, to get better. Each of us has our strengths and our weaknesses."
At this point he leveled a stare in Duskull's direction; the ghost-type hadn't been paying much attention, actually pulling faces at Ozu, the newest addition to the team, but at the shift in Jax's tone, he spun around and stiffened.
"We need to work with those strengths," he said, nodding, "and eliminate the weaknesses. That means, Duskull," he pointed at the ghost, "that you have to pay attention. Being able to phase through things doesn't mean you can just ignore them. What would happen if that Machoke you've been ignoring the whole battle suddenly throws a Thunderpunch?"
The ghost somehow managed to wince, and Ozu chuckled.
"Ozu," Jaxamar said, looking at him, "We need to work on your self esteem. Everyone else just needs to improve in general."

[Birdybot]

ooc// Tip; Try making two 5-line (or more) paragraph for each turn of a battle, and I'll give you two levels for each turn if I think you're good enough. Quantity matters as much as quality!

ic// A girl was wondering about, looking for someone to battle against. There were many people in the Training Center, but none of the people she'd spoken to so far were of a similar level to her. She sighed, still searching. She looked about twelve or thirteen, her unsettled daemon fluttering a little above her in the form of a Pidgey. He cooed excitedly as he spied Jaxamar; that guy looked as though he was at a similar stage as his human! He led the girl to him, landing in her arms as a Rattata.

"Hey there, my name's Jane and my daemon is Oli. I've been looking for someone of my level for ages. Are your Pokémon around level 5, 6, 7-ish?" she asked hopefully. She really thought she'd found the person here. In one hand she even had a Pokéball clutched, ready to send into battle if Jaxamar said yes. "If yes, then send out your first Pokémon!" she grinned, anbsolutely ready.

[jaxamar]

Jaxamar eyed the girl for a moment, then nodded, motioning for Tailow to come forwards. The bird did so, flapping his wings and taking flight, spiralling around the pair of trainers.

"So, Jane," Jax said, "What challenge are you on? You look more like a Coordinator than a Trainer to me."

He froze, then chuckled ruefully. "Sorry. My name is Jaxamar, and my Daemon here is Gareth."
"Pleased to meet you," Gareth said, his Dratini snout twitching as he spoke.

[Birdybot]

Jane raised an eyebrow. "I'm a trainer, thank you very much." she said, a girl who was able to stand up for herself and not afraid to answer back. Oli nodded to Gareth, the Rattata formed daemon more laid back than his human. Jane wasn't sure whether Jaxamar was battling her or not, but she felt like releasing her first Pokémon anyway. The Pokéball in her hand had been selected at random, and she now released it without knowing which one of her pokémon lay inside.

The red light revealed the form to be a Magby, and Jane smiled. "Hey, Mage. This is Jaxamar, whom I think we're battling," she told the Fire type, then turned to Jax, [/b]"would you like the first move?"[/b] she asked him politely. Mage the Magby looked around him, then started messing around with his claws. He didn't seem to have known Jane for too long, which might be an advantage to Jaxamar.

[/size]

[jaxamar]

"Well, normally I'd say ladies first, but if you insist," Jax said, inclining his head towards her.
"Tailow, use Tackle," he called up to the flying Pokemon, who twisted around and dove towards Mage, intending to slam into the fire-type.

(Sorry about such a short reply... Couldn't think of anything else to say.)

[Birdybot]

Tackle? That was a physical move, and Mage's Flame Body ability meant that whenever he was touched by a physical move, there was a small chance the opponent would get the burn status. The Magby knew this and so took the hit from the Tailow, unsure whether he would have been able to dodge even if he had tried. The Fire type snarled in pain as it struck, but kept in mind his goal and held on. Jane smiled, pleased with her Pokémon. "Good! Now, try a Smog!" she called, hoping she would get a hit, too.

Mage sucked in a deep breath, turning it to a poisonous cloud of purple gas which he then expelled by breathing out. This would cause Tailow a sort of burning pain in its lungs if it breathed the stuff in. However, the Smog wasn't a very powerful attack at all, but was the only offensive move Mage knew so they would have to stick with it. Besides, nearly half the time it was used, it would induce the poison status; Mage knew that if he persevered, he could end up with his opponent either burned or poisoned. Either was nice.

[jaxamar]

Tailow soared high into the air to evade the attack, although he did not entirely succeed; some of the smog clung to his feathers, and seeped into his nostrils, causing him to hack violently.

"Tailow, you OK?" Jax shouted up at the Flying-type, worried. The small bird swung around again, glaring at Mage.

[Birdybot]

ooc// I really do want you to get lots of levels in this, and so far you wouldn't. That's barely one paragraph's worth, try to include some more detail on their thoughts and feelings, and if you do attack then try and use that to describe your way to extra levels!

ic// Jane was shocked at Jax. He was asking if his Tailow was OK rather than getting him to attack? She could understand the checking up on his Pokémon part, but certainly not the not attacking part. Had he forgotten or something? He wasn't a very good trainer if he forgot to attack. The girl smiled, although it wasn't the most keen one ever. If her opponent didn't attack, it would make for an easy battle, but she wasn't sure if she would gain that many levels. Oh, well, she could always fight someone else if that happened. "Mage, another Smog!" she called.

Mage the Magby had seen that Tailow had the advantage since he could fly away from the gas, but he didn't know any other offensive moves so it wasn't as if he actually had a choice their. That was what the training was for in part; to learn new moves. The Fire type took in another deep breath, turning it into more poison. He then coughed it out, spewing another larger cloud. This time, he sent it with more force at it opponent so it would hopefully reach higher.

[jaxamar]

This time Tailow managed to evade the attack, and swung around behind Mage quickly.
"Use Peck!" Jax ordered, noticing this.
Instead, Tailow used Focus energy, tightening his focus in on his opponent and channeling his energy. He also Growled in a rather cute manner as he did so, drawing an exasperated sigh from Jax and slightly lowering his opponent's Attack.

"Aye aye aye," Jax said, putting his hand on his beaked face, "That's another thing we have to work on."
"He does need to learn to follow your orders," Furnblaze commented, frowning, "But you can recall him if you have to. Then you can send me out."
"Your Flash Fire ability won't work on Poison-type attacks, Furnblaze. You'll have to stay out of this one."

(OOC* I know, Birdy, and I'm doing my best. I guess I've just gotten too used to the short-posted chatroom RP style...

[Birdybot]

ooc// I see... Well, that one was better!

ic// At first, Mage looked deeply annoyed that Tailow had dodged his attack. It wasn't as if the Smog hurt much! The Magby thought the flying behind him to attack wasn't exactly the most useful thing ever, since it was very obvious Tailow had done so; after all, where else would he be if he wasn't in sight and had flown in the backways direction? Mage turned around as Jax ordered a Peck, watching the Tailow disobey his trainer by first using a Focus Energy to up his chances of a critical hit, then a Growl to lower his attack stat. Jane smiled; the bond between trainer and Pokemon couldn't be too strong here, a good thing for her. "Smog!"

Mage wondered briefly if Tailow was avoiding hurting him in order to lengthen the battle in attempt to get more levels. Maybe, but there was a major flaw in this; if Tailow refused to attack while Mage was, it was fairly clear that the Pokemon taking no damage would win. Well, the Magby was hardly going to argue with that, instead allowing Tailow to ignore Jax. The Fire type obeyed his trainer, spewing out more poison in another Smog attack. Maybe this time the 40% chance of poisoning would kick in and knock some ense into Tailow.

[jaxamar]

Tailow was engulfed by the cloud, and had to force himself to fly out of it. He coughed, trying to expel the smog from his lungs.
"Tailow, use Peck!" Jax ordered, and this time Tailow spun around and dove in, beak-first.

"Tailow looks a little ill," Gareth commented, noticing that Tailow seemed to be grimacing, "But..."
"His Guts ability," Jaxamar said, looking worried, "It ups attack when effected by a status condition... such as Poisoning."
Furnblaze stood ready to retrieve the tiny swallow Pokemon should he actually faint, looking worried for a fellow member of the Pokemon team Jax had assembled.

[Birdybot]

Ah, an actual attack. Plus, it seemed that Tailow was actually poisoned. That was good; it meant he would lose a little health on every turn! However, it seemed that also it boosted his attack power... that was the Guts ability, wasn't it? Mage frowned, trying to dodge but ending up taking the Peck. Ow. That was painful, especially with the bird's raised attack. Still, being hit was part of a battle, and being attacked by your opponents added to the whole excitement of it all. Mage was starting to enjoy this. "Smog directly upwards as he flies away!" Jane called, adding a touch of strategy to the battle.

Good, at last Jane had figured out some sort of strategy thing. It was hard to think of a strategy sometimes, but thankfully they'd managed to do it; tactics helped win the battle, plus it added a dash of excitement to any battle. Mage angled his mouth upwards, spewing out the Smog at Tailow's retreating form in the hope that it would push him further away and so make it harder for him to aim his next attack. It was risky, but Tailow would be hurt by the poison anyway so it was worth a try, right? Mage watched to see if Tailow would be hit.

[jaxamar]

Tailow had actually retreated off to the side, rather than straight up: Mage had just fired his Smog at a wind-blown leaf, which was revealed a moment later when Tailow, grimacing at the poison, skimmed the ground and zipped in towards Mage.
"Got for it, Tailow," Jax ordered, "Use Peck!"
Tailow obeyed him again, streaking in beak-first.

Cyril hopped from foot to foot, using a pair of leaves as japanese-style cheerleading fans, much to the amusement of his fellow psychic-type, Ozu. Duskull was hovering in place, calmly watching the battle. Furnblaze waved his six tails, cheering for his fellow.

[Birdybot]

ooc// Lol, I just realized that all your Pokémon are boys.

ic// Mage snarled as the Smog missed, eyes flickering to where Tailow was launching a Peck. Still, the annoying bird had gone in for another attack, and maybe the slower Magby would still be able to dodge, right? The Fire type worked out where the Flying type's Peck would land, and moved out the way. Haha, now it wouldn't be able to hit! Mage smiled proudly, but Tailow had simply arched his wings in a different direction, stirking the Magby with a slightly weaker Peck because of the aim change. Jane sucked in a breath, seeing that things weren't going extremely well. "Try another Smog, you can do this!" she called.

The 'live coal' Pokémon nodded, hoping there was some truth in what his trainer was saying. He really wanted to learn some better moves than Smog, and to do that he needed to get stronger, he knew he did. Mage breathed out a Smog attack, clouding the air before Tailow even had a chance to fly off. He then held his breath and stepped back so he wouldn't hurt himself from his own attack, but the question was whether or not Tailow would be caught in the Smog.

[jaxamar]

Tailow was engulfed by the attack. However, he had been wise enough to hold his breath, so the damage was, again, minimal. However, the poison was taking its toll, and Tailow started hacking as he flew wide, before landing in front of Jax. He would have launched himself forwards again if Jax hadn't returned him, having judged that he was no longer fit for battle.
"You win that round," He said, inclining his head to her, "You're a good trainer. But I have to ask. Will you continue with Mage, or will you switch? If you're switching, You send out your Pokemon first."